THIS WEEK: Dakota State (S.D.) travels to Valley City, N.D this weekend as they compete in the final outdoor track & field regular-season meet Friday. The Trojans will participate in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Invitational for their last chance to qualify for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.

NORTH STAR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION INVITATIONAL: The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Invitational consists of four different schools competing slated to compete. They are host-school Valley City State (N.D.), Dakota State, Dickinson State (N.D.) and Jamestown (N.D.). The NSAA meet will be held at the Lokken Field on the campus of Valley City State University. The first event kicks off with the women's 5000-meter run at 11 a.m. and field events are slated to begin at 12 p.m. with the men's hammer throw, women's shot put and women's high jump.

GIMBEL EARNS NSAA OUTDOOR FIELD ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK: The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) has selected Ryan Gimbel of Dakota State (S.D.) in the fourth edition of the Outdoor Track & Field weekly honors. He was picked as NSAA Outdoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week after breaking a new DSU school record at the 89th Annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays. Gimbel continued to dominate the DSU school record book in the men's hammer throw as he threw a new record of 144 feet, 3 inches on Friday, May 2 in Sioux Falls, S.D. As a result, he was 11th in the men's hammer throw. Gimbel also placed 12th in the men's shot put (41 feet, 10.5 inches) and 21st place in the discus throw (122 feet).

INCHING CLOSER TO NATIONALS: The Trojan men's 4 x 100-meter relay – consisting of teammates D'Artist Williams, Spencer Carlson, Trevor Jacobsen and Marty Hargrove – earned a third-place finish with a time of 42.21 seconds at the 89th Annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays on Friday, May 2. The time is also the third fastest time in the DSU men's outdoor track & field school record. In addition, the time is also just .22 seconds short to qualifying for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.

PERSONAL RECORDS: At the 89th Annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Mark Moeller ran a new personal best in the men's 800-meter run. He won the second heat with a time of one minute and 56.24 seconds, finishing 13th overall in the event. Jared Truman added a personal best time in the 800-meters race with a time of 2:08.81. Trevor Van Tilburg added a personal best mark in the men's hammer throw of 129 feet, 3 inches – which is the fourth-best throw in the DSU school record book. Michael Hoffman ran a time of 16:22.31 for a personal record time in the men's 5000-meter run. Sara Friesen earned a personal best time in the women's 100-meter dash with a time of 13.78 seconds. A pair of throwers in the women's discus posted a personal best measurement as Ashley Currey recorded 116 feet, 8 inches and Clara Schlid with a measurement of 96 feet, 2 inches. Zac Woods threw a personal best mark in the men's shot put with a measurement of 42 feet, 2.25 inches.

NAIA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD QUALIFYING LIST: Michael Hoffman is the lone runner from Dakota State that qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship meet. He qualified for the full marathon for his second time in his career after clocking a national qualifying time of 1 hour, 11 minutes and 31 seconds to earn second place finish in the Fremont (Neb.) Half-Marathon meet. The NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships take place in Gulf Shores, Ala. on May 22-24.

FORMER DSU ALL-AMERICAN RUNNER EARNS TWO WINS AT HOWARD WOOD: Former DSU All-American runner Matt Fideler earned two victories at the 89th Annual Howard Wood Dakota Relays last weekend in Sioux Falls, S.D. He captured the men's 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:14.15 on May 2 and came-from-behind to win the men's 1500-meter run in 3:52.19 on May 3.

COACHES' CORNER: Dakota State University track and field head coach Buzz Stevenson has been involved in sports since his high school days in Ipswich, S.D. and has been a coach and teacher for more than 45 years. While at DSU, Stevenson has garnered 14 South Dakota-Iowa Conference Coach of the Year titles and two NAIA Great Plains regional cross-country coach of the year awards. He has accumulated 14 SDIC championships and his athletes have produced 57 All-American honors. Anthony Drealan is in his third year as an assistant coach in track and field. Alex Glover enters his first season with the DSU track & field program as the throwing coach. Cody Foreman is also an assistant track and field coach for the Trojans.

UP NEXT: The NAIA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships will be held in Gulf Shores, Ala. on May 21-23. The national meet takes place at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium.